While the Classic II shares a case with the earlier Classic, architecturally it is more similar to the Macintosh LC. The use of custom ICs, identical to those used in the LC, enabled the Classic II to have a lower component count than older Macs. Unlike the LC and the SE/30 before it, the Classic II did not have an internal PDS expansion slot, making it the first slotless desktop Macintosh since the Macintosh Plus.

There were two Classic II cases. Later models came with a speaker grille on the left side for enhanced sound (as pictured).

The Classic II was the last black-and-white compact Macintosh. It was also the last desktop Macintosh to include an external floppy disk drive port. Apple discontinued support for the Classic II on January 1, 2001.

†The Classic II has a 50-pin internal expansion slot intended for either an FPU co-processor or additional ROM. The socket is not designed to be used for any other purpose and is not suitable for use as a general expansion slot. Apple never produced an expansion card of any kind for this slot,[1] although at least one third-party FPU was available: the FastMath Classic II by Applied Engineering.[2] and Sonnet offered a synchronous (16MHz) and asynchronous (50MHz) 68882 FPU.

Timeline of compact Macintosh models

The interrupt (left) and reset (right) buttons protruding from the air vent on the lower left hand side of the Classic II. The interrupt button (also called the programmer's key) is used to access a debugger.

The Apple ADB keyboard that shipped with the Classic II. On many Macs the large button at the top near the Apple logo was used to power on the machine. However the Classic II did not support this feature. The keyboard contained two ADB connectors. One connected into the back of the Macintosh, the other was used for connecting the mouse or other peripherals. The mouse could be connected to either side for left or right-handed use.